Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangha (BMS) has warned that the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will not only cause large amount of loss to the government but also affect the sovereignty of the nation. The Sangha staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s officer here on Wednesday, making its point clear to the government.
Addressing the gathering, BMS District President K Vishwanatha Shetty said as the land given for the foreign companies under SEZ is free of control from various indigenous legislations, the government will lose control over the companies, and consequently the integrity and sovereignty of the nation will be in crisis.
As various tax exemptions have been given for the companies, the State and Central governments are forced to lose a large amount of revenue in the form of tax.
SEZs will become ‘special exploitation zones’ but not special economic zones, he criticised.
The protesters also pointed out that the SEZs are forcing the country to lose a large area of fertile land, thus to create an imbalance in the population growth and food supply in the forthcoming years.
They observed that lakhs of people belonging to the families of agriculturalists, artisans will go unemployed with the establishment of more number of tech-based industries. Cottage and small scale industries will be ruined to dust within a few years, the protesters stated.
BMS Karnataka Pranta General Secretary Suryanarayan Rao, District Secretary Vasanth Yeyyady were present.